The other day I caught myself thinking about a conflict I was having with another individual. 
It wasn’t a serious conflict, but something that was causing my mind some dissonance. As I started to pay attention to the direction of my thought, I noticed that the more I concentrated on the conflict, the more the conflict escalated in my own mind.
At one point, I even realized that my heart was racing just a little faster. My mind had managed to create its own adrenaline, and now I was feeling compelled to take action.
I’ve been here before, as I’m sure many of you have. But what occurs far more frequently for me today is that I have the presence of mind to pause and reflect.
When I do that, I realize that there is a law that is at work here, and it’s the law of physics that says an object will continue indefinitely in the direction it is going unless opposed by another force.
When I become aware of what is taking place within me, that’s when I am at choice. And when I am able to take that pause of thought, I can listen to what my racing heart is really trying to communicate to me: don’t run or attack in fear, slow down and open up to love.
Depending upon the level of conflict, it can take a considerable amount of energy to generate the love sufficient to change direction – but I know now that it will take place as long as I continue to focus my mind, and keep my heart open to possibilities.
Our mind is a trickster. It likes us to think that it knows everything, but so often you can see that it changes sides if you just take the time to listen. That inner world that has us so convinced that it holds the answer to everything is a bit like a noisy courtroom where parts of ourselves play the role of both defender and plaintiff.
Our challenge is that we get confused and begin to think that this mind is also the judge. In other words – at some point we stop the dialogue and let one side win – not even realizing that the judge had taken a recess.
Our judge isn’t our Mind, it is our heart. It is that higher part of ourselves that already knows how to engage in the world so that things move forward in a peaceful manner.
Gary Zukov, author of The Seat of the Soul, once wrote that “love heals everything – love is all there is.” John Lennon put it even more succinctly: “love is the answer.”
Fear ensures we continue down the same path. It is love that shows us where we can turn a corner.
Be still my racing heart.
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